Monster Shark (1984)

A different cut of this movie titled "Devilfish" appeared on MST3K. Devilfish had scenes rearranged practically at random, like other US releases of Italian movies. The more original cuts of Italian movies I see, the more I realize the bad rap 70s and 80s Italian movies get is mostly undeserved. The companies that brought these movies to the US butchered them more often than not.

Monster Shark is actually a pretty good movie. It's no masterpiece but it is much, much better than Devilfish (though "Devilfish" is actually a better title, more on this later). The characters are even more likable, somehow. Bob the drunken ocean researcher comes off as a total ass in Devilfish but is an ok guy in Monster Shark. A little editing makes a big difference.

The plot in a nutshell: there's this monster, and it eats some people. Well, duh, the title of the movie is "Monster Shark", what did you expect? Given the movie's vintage, you doubtless also expect the monster to have been created and possibly controlled by an eeee-ville corporation. You're right, sort of.

The man who created the monster shark is one Dr. Davis, who works for the World Oceanographic Institute. He has apparently decided that the oceans need to be protected -- so they can be exploited for profit -- and to this end he created the monster and set it loose to see how well it could protect a small stretch of water. Here's the kicker, though: the CEO of the WOI wasn't in on this! In fact, when he finds out, he tells Davis that he's nuts and there's no way anyone could possibly profit from an ocean infested with monsters.

Wow. Just wow. A rich business man in a monster movie who isn't evil -- he's an a***ole but not evil --is one thing. But a rich business man in a monster movie, who is not evil, and who thinks that creating an army of unkillable monsters is a bad idea is something I've only seen in, hell, maybe just three movies counting this one.

Oh, what else do we have here? A sheriff who is not on the take from an eeee-ville corporation? A sheriff who, when presented with evidence of a gigantic, toothy monster, takes it seriously? Who fairly quickly implements a plan to capture and kill it? Excuse me, I've got to go lie down. And when new evidence arises that makes his plan to blow up the monster a bad idea he immediately and personally takes responsibility for correcting his mistake! I ... I feel faint ...

And -- and -- *choke* no teenagers in sight! (!!!!!!!!!) The characters are all adults, who behave like adults. They might not be the brightest adults, but still. They also all look like normal people, not movie stars.

So: No teenagers in peril. No corrupt authority figures. No eeee-ville corporations. No amoral businessmen. Whoa. We do have a mad scientist with a totally unworkable scheme but his motivation is profit, which is at least a little unusual. Monster Shark does veer into idiot picture territory more than a few times but the characters get a little smarter and adjust their actions whenever they discover new information.

Aside from some pretty atypical elements, we have two genuinely good scenes.

Good Scene #1 is a *cough* comically arguing older couple having dinner on their boat. Hubby cuts himself on a knife and Wifey goes below to get some iodine. While she's below, the monster attacks the boat and whatever it's doing to Hubby, it sounds horrible. Whoever did the dub of his screaming did a great job. The actress playing Wifey strikes a good balance between wanting to know what's happening to her husband and wanting to just hide so it doesn't happen to her.

Good Scene #2 occurs later. Two of the heroes have donned Scuba gear to attach a hydrophone to the underside of the boat. A third member of their crew is on deck to switch it on and off to see if it works. She does switch it on but is attacked by the hitman employed by Dr. Davis before she can turn it off. The hydrophone is broadcasting the monster's mating call. Looks like Mr. Hitman and his friends are going to have a little more to deal with than an electronics expert and two marine biologists.

There are other snippets of competent filmmaking scattered here and there. The boat used by the good guys has an observation pool on the lower deck which the monster rises through to attack Drunken Bob and one of the female scientists. The woman survives and is afraid to go near the pool later on. The monster's final kill is made after it has been captured and set on fire, and the man it grabs also catches on fire before he gets chomped. Little touches like that don't make it into cheapie movies like this often enough.

Now, let me tell you why "Devilfish" is actually a better title than "Monster Shark". The monster isn't a shark. It in no way resembles a shark. It's an octopus. The gigantic mouth on the tip of its head doesn't even look sharklike. From what we get to see of it, the monster is actually pretty cool. Certainly better than most 80s aquatic movie beasts, especially for the budget.

I hope I haven't made Monster Shark sound too good. I loved it but it is, after all, a low-budget monster movie. Your tolerance for such things may vary.